Shoto Todoroki of the anime Buko No Hero Academia 2022

If you wanna stop this, then stand up! Because I've just got one thing to say to you! Never forget who you want to become!
__Shoto Todoroki to Tenya Iida in "From Todoroki to Iida"

Shoto Todoroki is the tetartagonist of My Hero Academia. He is a student in Class 1-A who was accepted into U.A. High School through official recommendations to train to become a Pro Hero.

Appearance

Shoto is a reasonably tall, rather muscular young man who is well-built for his age. He has quite long hair, though it doesn’t pass his neck, and wears bangs, parted twice as to not obscure his vision. His hair color is unusual, as it’s evenly split down the middle of his head, his right side a bright white, and his left a crimson-magenta, this odd coloring being due to his Quirk. As another result of this, he also possesses heterochromia iridium, which causes his left eye’s iris to appear turquoise, while his right is a somewhat brownish dark gray. His eyes, in shape, are quite thin and reserved, and he also has a large burn scar on the left side of his face, which reaches from his hairline to halfway down his cheek. Despite this, however, several of the girls in his class have claimed that he is incredibly handsome, Mina Ashido even going as far as to say that he’s the best-looking guy in Class 1-A.

During school hours, he wears the regular male U.A. uniform, replacing the usual brown dress shoe with casual pale cyan lace-ups.

In his initial hero costume, he wears a plain off-white shirt with matching pants and boots, with two gold-coloured straps going over his shoulders. He has what appears to be a material resembling ice covering his whole left side, even his head although it is detachable, which he wears as a way of rejecting the fire side of his Quirk.

His updated hero costume consists of a dark blue jacket with elbow-length sleeves, its collar high and joined in the centre by a gray neck piece, baggy pants of the same color, a metal plated combat vest and white boots, their soles and a thin line running down the centre of each of them a darker pale gray. He also sports a brown utility belt around his waist, with little metal capsules containing medical supplies hanging off the front.

Later, in the Provisional Hero License Exam Arc, his costume gains two burgundy wrist guards with metal plating, which help to regulate the temperature of his body after his attacks, and his boots now have a set of traps.

Personality

Shoto originally had a cold, aloof personality which stemmed from his abusive upbringing. Focused and unemotional, Shoto preferred to keep to himself instead of hanging out with other people. After the events of the U.A. Sports Festival, however, Shoto has become noticeably more sociable, even gaining a sense of humor and occasionally smiling, although still retaining the remnants of a distant attitude. After the events in the Remedial Course Arc, he has began to open up more to his classmates and has lightened up from his usually serious demeanor. This is shown by actively getting involved in preparations for the Cultural Festival, where he suggests they do a dance party, an event that all the stressed out students can enjoy.

Despite his usual reserved demeanor, Shoto did initially possess a moderate level of arrogance, which, combined with his solitary tendencies, sometimes made him take the initiative without considering the opinions of others, as he was confident that he could take on any obstacles with his own strength. He used to be much more unfriendly as well, to the point of causing someone to resent him.

Shoto is quite seasoned in battle, being able to stay calm and composed even while fighting real villains. Though brutal in combat, Shoto is well-grounded on the ethics of heroism, only wishing to subdue his frozen opponents as opposed to killing them by prolonging their frozen states. Shoto appears to draw his heroic values from All Might, which is a trait he shares in common with Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo.

Shoto had a deep loathing for his fire abilities, which he inherited from Endeavor, as it symbolized his father's wickedness towards him and his mother as well as what he was born to be: a tool to surpass All Might, a fate that he detests. As such, Shoto decided to rely solely on his ice power and never use the other half of his Quirk in battles, going so far as to cover his left torso and arm with ice in his first Hero Costume to symbolize his rebellion against his father. His flames would be used only to undo his freezing moves.

During his match with Izuku Midoriya in the U.A. Sports Festival, Izuku's speech made the memory of his mother's supportive words resurface, and for the first time since his childhood, Shoto used his fire power in combat. After the battle, Shoto had mixed feelings about using his left side, but after reconciling with his mother, Shoto eventually came to terms with the half he once hated. Despite being scarred by her when he was a young kid, Shoto showcases no hard feelings towards his mother, visiting her often ever since the end of the Sports Festival.

However, Shoto still harbors a grudge towards Endeavor, even if he respects his father's ability as a Hero, admitting to himself that such hatred can't vanish so easily and that he was wrong in trying to bury it. Having been denied a normal childhood so that his father could train him to realize his own selfish ambitions, Shoto still holds various psychological scars, which tend to emerge back into his mind when others compare him to Endeavor. Because of this and Izuku's influence, Shoto now strives to become a Hero, but without walking through the same path his father did. With Endeavor now attempting to improve his relationship with his family, Shoto has taken a cautious, yet hopeful approach to this development.

Synopsis

History

Enji Todoroki was always overshadowed by All Might and viewed as only second best, regardless of his impressive crime solving record. Enji developed an obsession with surpassing All Might, to the point of forcing a Quirk Marriage upon Rei Todoroki in order to conceive a child with a Quirk strong enough to be capable of surpassing All Might.

When he was five years old, Shoto started to receive training from his father because of his Half-Cold Half-Hot Quirk. However, the training was too harsh and forced Shoto to cry and vomit. Rei would try to defend him, but Enji refused to listen and would even physically abuse her in front of Shoto.

His father also prevented Shoto from interacting with his older siblings and Shoto began to despise the training and resented his father for abusing him and his mother.

During these dark times, Rei would always be there to support him. Despite the abuse she suffered, she would still try to encourage Shoto to become a hero. There was a time when they watched a TV special on All Might. He encouraged children to make their powers their own even if they inherited their parents' abilities. In line with All Might's advice, Rei told him that he is not a prisoner of his bloodline, and could use his powers to become whoever he desires.

However, Rei eventually broke down from the constant domestic abuse, finding it painful to even look at Shoto's left side because it reminded her of Enji. One day, as she talked with her own mother over the phone about her trauma and recognized that she no longer had the mental stability to raise her son. She was startled by Shoto's sudden appearance at the door, and after seeing Shoto's left side, she snapped and threw boiling water over the boy's face, giving him a burn over his left eye.

Sometime after this incident, Shoto asked his father where his mother was, to which Enji replied that he sent her to the hospital for hurting him. Shoto blamed Enji, saying that everything that happened was his fault. At some point later in his life, Shoto would forget about his mother's supportive words.

Shoto's dark upbringing left him to focus on nothing but rejecting his father. He became cold and distant from other people. Shoto participated in the U.A. Recommendation Entrance Exam, where he encountered Inasa Yoarashi. Inasa tried to ask Shoto about his father but the latter completely blew him off. Both of them race in the same leg of the practical exam and Inasa manages to barely take first place ahead of Shoto. Inasa tried to befriend Shoto yet again, but Shoto insults him and says to get out of the way.